The Story
It took just one small incident to set the course for Cassius Clay’s life and fill him with the desire to become the Greatest of All Time. After his bike was stolen, a friendly police officer invited 12 year old Cassius to a local gym to learn how to fight. The rest, as they say, is history.
Bolden introduces children and adults to Ali the fighter and Ali the activist. From his initial decision to become a boxer, to his Olympic Gold Medal at age 18, the Heavyweight Championship win that followed, through to his conversion to Islam and social activism, Tonya Bolden portrays the whole man, and does so in a catchy, poetic style reflective of Ali’s vibrant personality.
Muhammad Ali, the man with the “fine physique, cheetah eyes and moonbeam smile,” is further brought to life in R. Gregory Christie’s stylized, vivid acrylic and colored pencil illustrations that let readers witness the Champ "With his strong, limber, legs,” as “he'd spring around the ring on the balls of his feet or up on his toes."
